He is modest, Elmar von Kolson, here with the platinum CD for Johann Sebastian Bach, in a threefold version to honor the gigantic work of Bach. Only as a substitute for the whole family of musicians he wanted to accept the award. Spontaneously he had the idea to give the trophy to the Bach House in Eisenach to make such an honor accessible to the public as a loan. Elmar von Kolson is the 5th great-grandchild of Johann Sebastian Bach.
If you are researching precisely for the particular Golden Record, which is on its way with the spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2 into the universe and to E.T., that is to say to search for extraterrestrials, then you are right here, with just one short click.
More than 260 years after his death and almost 330 years after his birth the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach received a platinum CD for his excellent masterpiece, the St. Matthew Passion. This late honor by host Kurt Van Eegham of the Belgian radio station Klara (Classical Radio = Klassik Radio) was given to Elmar von Kolson, 5th great-grandchild. Together with von Kolson's wife Renate, more members of the most famous family of musicians and the director of the Bach House, Dr. Joerg Hansen and guests the event was celebrated commonly. Next on the schedule was a common trip through the Bach House and the Bach Museum, when the director of the Bach House showed the media experts from Belgium specialties related to the theme of Bach. An interview with Elmar von Kolson finished the event.
On the right side the host of the event, Dr. Joerg Hansen, director of the Bach House and Bach Museum in Eisenach, Germany. On the left, there's radio host Kurt Van Eeghem. In the middle with the platinum CD is Elmar von Kolson.
Advertisement
99 Music Calendars, Composers Calendars and Bach Calendars
The Bach calendars: 33 music gifts. They come in three sizes, they are European style, and you can purchase them in the US calendar style. Plus, you can order them as a calendar for this year and for the next year.
In five shops, however, there are not only Bach calendars. Here you will find all these options and from the next page you can continue.
End of Advertisement
"Klara" is a radio station in Belgium that started to air in the year 2000 and specializes in classical music. The audience decides from a top 100 every year, which is the most favored piece of classical music from a long gone period. Of course, Johann Sebastian is often among the first places, and he is on place one more than average. 2013 Johann Sebastian Bach managed to place one again plus he has achieved more nominations among the positions 1 to 10.
Both Renate and Elmar von Kolson have done a lot to keep the cultural heritage regarding Johann Sebastian Bach alive in Wechmar. If a family member has earned the honor to take over the platinum CD for Johann Sebastian Bach as a substitute of the Bach family than it's the couple of Renate and Elmar von Kolson, seven generations after the superstar.
Actually, the professionals of Klara planned to honor Bach's work with a Golden Record. But then they decided, by comparing the number of sold copies by decades and centuries, that people liked Bach, to award him with a platinum CD, as gold would not have been appropriate. Finally, Klara decided to hand over three platinum CDs.
Press, public, platinum for Bach: Honor to whom honor is due: Renate and Elmar von Kolson plus the host of Radio Klara.
Elmar von Kolson, he was honored with German Federal Cross of Merit together with his wife Renate, handed the CD as a loan to Dr. Joerg Hansen, director of the Bach House, who now proudly presents that CD to a broad public. Elmar von Kolson is a direct descendant of the great German composer in the seventh generation. The Federal Cross of Merit was given by the proposal of the city of Gotha major Knut Kreuch for their engagement around Johann Sebastian Bach. In the village of Wechmar, the ancestral home of the Bach family, they called them Bache back then, the von Kolsons bought the former schoolhouse, which is a benchmark today and rebuilt it in the process of many months. With this support, the historic building could be conserved. Knut Kreuch as well was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit for his work for the Bach history. He was the one who saved the Veit Bach Mill from being torn down, and he cared much about the Bach Ancestral Home in Wechmar. The Veit Bach Mill had almost be damaged as they needed the place for a new road. Today it is rebuilt to perfection and a treasure for Bach enthusiast visiting from all over the world.
This is what the Bach House and the Bach Family of Musicians can be proud of in the future: a late honor for Johann Sebastian Bach. In the picture starting on the left: radio host Kurt Van Eeghem, Elmar von Kolson in the middle and Bach House director Dr. Joerg Hansen on the right.
The event was organized by the creative folks and makers of the new Bach portal on the internet, which is "Bach Ueber Bach" respectively "Bach On Bach.com," the international sister project together with the Bach House in Eisenach. "Bach Ueber Bach" is the most extensive international cross-media website related to the theme of Bach and it's the largest in Germany by far.
The gentleman in gold in the background: The master born in Eisenach. His St. Matthew Passion made the platinum CD status today.
Johann Sebastian Bach, his 5th great-grandson, the radio host from Belgium and a platinum CD: That is news, an event, a photo.
Radio Klara makes an interview with Elmar von Kolson in the back then the residence of young Johann Sebastian Bach. With a crew of seven professionals, the experts from Radio Klara came from Belgium to Eisenach, to take pictures, a video and edit the text.
Just a little time for a tour, after the platinum CD was handed over, the video was taken, the photos have been made, and the background for the video was researched.
There is always exciting news coming from the Bach House in Eisenach: Dr. Joerg Hansen, director of the Bach House in Eisenach, informs his guests from the nearby Wechmar and the far away from Belgium.
There is much to discover in the Bach House in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany.
The video of Radio Klara regarding the Golden Record, respectively the platinum CD is the result of the professionals from Belgium beyond the quality of a radio station. Although it's neither English nor German, you can handle the content with so many Bach related words. And it's short: It's just one minute long.
Advertisement
Yes, We Offer Music Calendars and Composers Calendars with a Grid, Too
Please support our Bach mission … learn more.
99 Music Calendars, Composers Calendars and Bach Calendars
The music gift "Bach calendar": In the picture above, it is one of 33 Bach calendars. Three sizes. This year, next year. EU + US style. To the Publishing House Shop.
End of Advertisement